Torres Wins 50 Free in Texas Meet

Dara Torres easily won the 50-meter freestyle at a meet on Sunday and still didn't like her performance.

She vowed not to make the same mistakes when the times really matter this summer.

The 42-year-old Torres, who won a silver medal in the event in Beijing last summer, took the 50 free at the Texas Senior Circuit No. 2 meet at Texas A&M on Sunday in 24.62 seconds, improving on her time of 24.73 seconds from the morning preliminaries.

But Torres said she swallowed water -- an unlikely gaffe for someone who's competed in five Olympics -- and hurried her strokes early in the race. She came up coughing and gasping for breath after touching the wall.

"I didn't swim my race the way I should've," said Torres. "I turned my arms over too fast and got tired really quickly.

"I should know better," she said, "but this is why I go to meets. It's still all a learning experience. I know I'm not going to let that happen in my next race."

Torres swam the 50 free in 24.07 seconds in Beijing, an American record. She missed the gold by 0.01 seconds to Germany's Britta Steffen.

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The world record is 23.96 seconds, set by Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands on April 19.

Torres was shooting for 24.5 seconds on Sunday as she prepares for the U.S. nationals in Indianapolis in July. The biggest test comes later that month, at the world championships in Rome.

But Torres came to Texas with little idea how she was doing in her training because of her hectic schedule since the Olympics. In between training sessions, she's juggled a publicity tour for her book, "Age Is Just a Number," recovery from three surgeries and personal time with her 3-year-old daughter, Tessa.

She walked away from this meet pleasantly surprised. On Friday, Torres set an American record in the 50 butterfly, an event she rarely practices. And even with the mistakes in the 50 free, she was satisfied with the time.

"The reason my confidence hasn't been going so well is because I've been on the road so much, and my workouts haven't been great," she said. "I've been working hard, I feel as strong as I've ever been in the water and on dry land, but it hasn't equated to fast times.

"But 24.6 (on Sunday) is pretty good and I know it could've been better," she said. "So my confidence is good now and I'm excited to swim in my next meet."

Torres said she'll compete at a meet in Austin next month, the same pool where she won the 50 free in another event in March.

Her coach, Michael Lohberg, said Torres exceeded his expectations this weekend.

"This meet was strictly planned as a confidence builder and as an analysis of 'Where are we?"' he said. "She's only swam in one other meet this year and that didn't really give us much information. That was just to get her back racing.

"This meet had a different purpose," Lohberg said. "This meet was really good for us. Her times were good and the confidence is back."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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